The first trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi may have been the biggest news to come out of Star Wars Celebration last week, but it wasn’t the only news: Lucasfilm also quietly announced several new novels, written by key SFF authors, to expand the Star Wars universe. As part of the “Journey to The Last Jedi” series, these novels will cover ground before Episode VIII—like Ken Liu tackling the legend(s) of Luke Skywalker, Claudia Gray revisiting General Leia in her youth, and Delilah S. Dawson getting underneath the chromium helmet to learn more about the enigmatic Captain Phasma!
Check out the covers and scant hints that were dropped at Star Wars Celebration:
The Legends of Luke Skywalker by Ken Liu
The Grace of Kings author wasn’t able to divulge much when announcing the news on his blog, but he did share a fond memory of reading his first Star Wars book, a novelization of The Empire Strikes Back as a third-grader in China: “Empire literally blew my mind. I had never seen a world like this: where magic and technology were both vital; where ancient archetypes, some of which I recognized from Chinese myths and legends, pulsed with a futuristic sheen; where hope was not easy, but was always the right choice.”
The Legends of Luke Skywalker will be published October 31.
Leia: Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray
Gray expanded the character of General Leia in the Journey to The Force Awakens novel Bloodline; now, she’ll depict Princess Leia in a YA novel.
No publication date yet announced.
Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson
Appropriately for the character, we don’t know what this novel will cover. But The Perfect Weapon author Dawson went around Star Wars Celebration taking Phasma selfies (this is totally going to become a thing) and has decided that her new catchphrase is “I DO NOT DOUBT YOUR COMMITMENT TO PHASMA MOTION.”
Phasma will be published September 1.
Dawson and Liu are both also contributing stories to the 40th-anniversary anthology Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View.
Bonus! Del Rey also shared new information on Christie Golden’s forthcoming tie-in novel:
Inferno Squad by Christie Golden
A prequel to the video game Star Wars: Battlefront II, Golden’s book will follow Iden Versio, revealed in the intriguing new trailer for the game, and who leads the Inferno Squad. According to The Verge, the novel takes place in the aftermath of Rogue One and A New Hope, as Iden’s squad chases down Saw Gerrera’s Partisans cell.
Inferno Squad will be published July 25; Battlefront II will be released November 17.
